The most underrated on IMDb I can think of..

Rating: 10/10 (30 March 2013)

It seemed that this movie is rather inconspicuous in America. However, in my country, China, it received its due credit. It's somehow very much appreciated by Chinese fans, even more than the Godfather. A friend of mine was a pianist, he was recommending this movie to me all along. I watch the beginning and found it interesting, but my schedule hindered me from watching the whole movie. Yesterday I caught a glimpse at the TV show Lie to me and found the exact actor on that show: Tim Roth. The show really reminded me of this movie so I decided to watch it. I'm glad I did, and I regret leaving the DVD aside for so many years.
The movie was about a child/prodigy, left on a ship by an supposed immigrant family, was adopted by a stoker. From the stoker, the boy established the notion that the ship was everything to him{(everything outside the Virginian is bad). Tragically, the stoker was later killed in an accident, leaving the boy an orphan. Being on the ship long enough, the boy fostered a great interest on piano. By watching the pianists play, he became spontaneously proficient at playing the instrument. The night the stoker was buried(thrown overboard), he sneaked into the ball room and played an improvised sad piece, a piece which attracted passengers all over the ship(including the captain)to listen. Later, the boy grew up, playing the piano on the ship all his life. It was not until he was 27 that he met his lifelong friend: a trumpeter named Max Tooney. Although he became a legend on the ship because of his music, he never set foot on land, let alone starting a life there.
Watching this movie, I never bothered to check the clock even though it was close to midnight. My eyes were glued to every scene. The direction was perfect. I loved the idea of having Max on the voice-over, it increased the sense of epic and enhanced the consistency of the movie. Of course, the lovely piano pieces help to shed light on the scenes as well. Whenever you have exhausted your attention span, the music emerges, snapping you back into the movie. There are scenes that are still memorable even 15 years today. I.e., the scene which 1990 took Max on a fantastic piano ride in order to rid him of his seasickness. The piano duel between 1900 and Jelly Roll Morton. The scene which 1900 saw a beautiful lady and played a beautiful piano piece for him. Oh God, those scenes were so lovely. I could watch them again and again without getting bored. You really should give the composers credit for writing such beautiful music.
As for the acting, this movie was also top-notch. Tim Roth gave possibly the best performance in his career. Before I saw him on the DVD cover, I gave my doubts. I doubted if he could handle a character so elegant and noble, as he was used to playing villains and lowlifes all the time. His debut in the film erased all my doubts. He was charismatic and esoteric. His eyes showed you his crave for music and his sense of belonging to the ship. His emotion showed his willingness to connect with other people off the ship even though it was a lost cause. Finally, his performance peaked at the scenes with the girl. He really showed his passion for the girl although he was a shy person in nature. At times, I resonated with him. I was also a shy boy once and the always stalk the girls I desire and watch them from afar. In the end, it was his performance in the last scene that really stunned me. Originally, I thought it was kinda lame for him not to go overboard(no pun intended). However, his explanation to Max in the later scene allowed me not only to resonate with him, but also share a few tears for him. My emotion can only be manipulated by Tim's perfect performance.
On the other hand, I think Pruitt Vince Taylor gave a crappy performance. His emotion was so stiff..No wonder no one's hiring him anymore. In the last scene when he was supposed to be sad by 1900, I think his face expressed disdain instead of sadness. The guy's surely gotten his facial expressions all messed up.
For those who haven't seen this movie, I strongly recommend you to watch it. This is simply an amazing movie and Top 10 on my list on par with movies like The Shawshank Redemption. Don't let the IMDb rating fool you, have some backbone for you own opinion. If it's any consolation, on Douban(a Chinese movie website equivalent to IMDb), it received a high score of 9.1 and currently ranks 8 on Douban Top 250.